Chris Hodgson

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Chris Hodgson is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1994 to 2003, and a cabinet minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. His uncle, Glen Hodgson, was also a Tory MPP for many years.

Hodgson was born in Haliburton, Ontario, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Trent University. He worked as a real-estate salesperson for RE/MAX before entering public life, and worked in Health Care Planning for Haliburton County. He was also the Warden of Haliburton County prior to election to the Ontario Legislature He is also Past President of the Haliburton Men's Hockey League, and has been a minor league ice hockey coach.

Hodgson was first elected to the Ontario legislature in a 1994 by-election, defeating Liberal candidate Sharon McCrae by fewer than 2,000 votes in the rural riding of Victora--Haliburton, north of Toronto. This by-election was extremely bitter, and there were many accusations that Hodgson's team appealed to homophobic prejudice in the region to put their candidate over the top. (At the time of the by-election, the Liberal Party supported the NDP government's plans to provide increased social benefits for same-sex couples. They reversed their position after Hodgson's victory, amid fears that the issue had cost them rural support. This reversal in policy would later cost the party dearly.)

The Tories won a majority government in the provincial election of 1995, and Hodgson was re-elected over McCrae by almost 20,000 votes. On June 26, 1995, he was named Minister of Natural Resources, Development and Mines in Mike Harris's government.

Shortly after assuming office, Hodgson was involved in a cabinet discussion with Harris and members of the Ontario Provincial Police concerning a standoff with native protesters at Ipperwash Provincial Park. The police cleared the park by force on September 6, 1995, and in the process killed an unarmed protester named Dudley George.

On October 10, 1997, Hodgson was named Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet and Deputy Government House Leader. He also served as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

Hodgson defeated McCrae for a third time in the 1999 provincial election, this time in the redistributed riding of Haliburton--Victoria--Brock. He maintained his position as Chair of the Management Board in the new parliament, and was also named Commissioner of the Board of Internal Economy on July 27, 1999. After a cabinet shuffle on February 8, 2001, he was named Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

As Minister of Natural Resources Hodgson launched the Lands for Life initiative which saw the largest increase in parks and protected space in the history of the province. As Municipal Affairs Minister he rewrote the Municipal Act, the first time since the passage of the Baldwin Act in the late 1800s, placed protective status on the Oak Ridges Moraine and began Smart Growth for the entire province, an initiative that was downsized to include only the GTA in the successive Liberal government and renamed Places to Grow.

When Harris resigned as Premier in 2002, many expected Hodgson to enter the race to replace him. Instead, he endorsed Ernie Eves, the victorious candidate. He remained the Municipal Affairs and Housing portfolio in the Eves cabinet, but unexpectedly stepped down on January 13, 2003, announcing his decision to retire from politics. He did not run in the 2003 election.

Many considered Hodgson as Mike Harris's heir-apparent during the 1990s, and there are some who believe he may eventually return to provincial politics.

In 2004, he supported John Tory's successful bid to replace Eves as party leader. He is currently President of the Ontario Mining Association.

An inquiry into the Ipperwash shooting was established by the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty in 2004. In late 2005, former deputy Solicitor-General Elaine Todres testified that she heard Hodgson say, "Get the fucking Indians out of my park" at a lunch-hour meeting on the day of Dudley George's shooting. Former Progressive Conservative Attorney General Charles Harnick has also testified that he heard Premier Harris say "I want the fucking Indians out of the park" at the same meeting.[1] Harris and Hodgson denied the allegations when they took the stand. Additional testimony heard at the inquiry told of Hodgson's uneasiness with the government's position and how he had in fact brought a similar stand-off to a peaceful solution.